Egypt should release all imprisoned journalists

His Excellency Adly Mahmoud
Mansour
Office
of the President
Al-Ittihadia
Palace
Cairo,
Arab Republic of Egypt

Fax: +202
2 391 1441

Dear President Mansour,

As an international press freedom organization,
we are writing to express our concern about the climate of press freedom in
Egypt.

We believe that all Egyptian citizens should be
guaranteed the right to freedom of speech and freedom of information. Yet at
least seven journalists are being held behind bars in the country today, unable
to do their work in this critical time in Egypt's history. We condemn the
ongoing imprisonment of the journalists and urge the Egyptian government to
immediately release them.

Since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in
July, Egyptian security forces have been given free rein to target anyone deemed
by the government to be sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood or who work for
outlets in countries that criticized Morsi's ouster. This has led to
unprecedented numbers of anti-press violations in Egypt. Since July 2013, at
least five journalists have been
killed, 45 journalists assaulted,
and 11 news outlets raided. Since that time, at least 44 journalists have also
been detained without charge in pretrial procedures, which, at times, have gone
on for months.

The most recent detentions include
those of at least fourjournalists affiliated with Al-Jazeera English.
Authorities accused them of conducting "illegal meetings" with the Muslim Brotherhood
and illegally broadcasting news that harmed "domestic security." They
have not been officially charged.

One of these journalists, Canadian-Egyptian citizen
Mohamed Fahmy, is being held in a windowless room in Cairo's notorious Scorpion
Prison. His pre-existing shoulder injury has been exacerbated by his incarceration,
but he has been refused medical assistance, according to news
reports. Fahmy's family member told CPJ that he has said, "In Egypt right
now, you are guilty until proven otherwise."

Local and international press freedom
organizations have also voiced their concern about journalists jailed in Egypt.
The Freedoms Committee, part of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, as well as
the Washington-based National
Press Club, issued statements today condemning the arrests. Another statement, released today and
signed by correspondents and editors from more than 30 international media
organizations, called for the immediate release of all jailed journalists in
Egypt and highlighted concerns about the ability of the press to do work in the
country without fear of imprisonment.

We believe that the Egyptian government should protect
the rights and freedoms of its citizens, and we call on authorities to release
all journalists being held behind bars in Egypt. Journalists everywhere should
be able to work openly and freely without fear of reprisal.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent
matter.

Sincerely,

Joel
Simon,
Executive Director

CC List:

Hesham Barakat
Office of
the Public Prosecutor
Supreme
Court House
26th
of July Street
Cairo,
Egypt

Mohamed
Tawfik
Egyptian
Ambassador to the United States
3521
International Ct. NW
Washington
DC 20008